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~Chapter 150~
Karl snorted lightly and hugged me even tighter.
“They’ll discuss it with your father and the others.”
“Excuse me, Duke Silence.”
“The Emperor’s just dumping everything on us because he doesn’t want to take responsibility.”
He spoke slowly, rubbing his cheek against mine.
“By naming it an independent nation, he’s trying to shove the entire burden of the North onto us.”
“Hm.”
“If we rush to the negotiations right away, we’re dancing to his tune.”
“So you’re planning to make him sweat a little?”
“Yes.”
Karl answered calmly, then slunk into my arms like a prowling black panther. His fingers crept under my clothes, shamelessly.
“So we can stay like this a little longer.”
His hand brushed the bare skin of my waist. I didn’t flinch. That, too, was a change.
Maybe the real change was that our touches had grown deeper, just a little.
It happened after the dragon’s magic disappeared completely from Karl’s blood.
Though he still stops himself at the last moment.
He’s desperate to hold me close, always wanting to touch me—but I can feel how much he restrains himself, worried about my recovery.
It’s been like that the entire two weeks I’ve been recuperating in the Marquis’ estate.
But whenever I gave permission, he indulged without hesitation.
“See? Even bare skin to bare skin, no shocks.”
“Yeah.”
“Isn’t that amazing, Elaine?”
He used excuses like that.
“It is.”
“It is?”
“Because it’s not just the shocks that disappeared.”
Since the magic vanished, Karl had become… more ordinary.
He couldn’t use magic at all anymore—the circuits themselves were gone, erased from his body.
We even consulted the Mage Tower to check for side effects. The mages nearly lost their minds.
“The Grand Duchess came back from beyond the Demonic Gate?!”
“And the Duke’s magic circuits vanished?!”
“This is thesis material!”
They got kicked out by Jeremy and Beth before they could start any “disaster research.”
Ah, Jeremy and Beth were doing well.
Still bickering with each other, but if anyone tried to mess with me or Karl, they immediately teamed up to fight back.
Captain Istar was now being considered for Head Knight Commander, and even that slacker looked close to becoming a commander himself.
Our family’s doing just fine.
As for Saint Portu…
I tolerated Karl’s warm hand on my side as I pinched his cheek playfully.
“So you can’t teleport around the territory anymore either?”
“Not yet, but probably not.”
“Protecting Saint Portu will be harder then.”
“Yes. At least in terms of responding instantly to where monsters appear.”
That would’ve been a huge problem—
but then came the good news.
With the dragon’s magic gone, most of the monsters invading Saint Portu vanished too.
Reports said they were unlikely to swarm like before.
On top of that, parts of the frozen tundra and northern seas had thawed, opening land for farming and routes for trade.
Huge changes.
“When we return, we’ll have to reorganize everything.”
“We will.”
“So even without immediate talks with the Emperor, you’ll have more than enough work.”
I pushed Karl away gently, since he’d been burrowing deeper into me. He looked instantly sulky.
“You like me sticking close too.”
“Of course I do.”
“And yet you push me away?”
“We still have duties—as Duke and Duchess.”
“….”
“We’ll do them together.”
That softened his expression right away. Karl could never resist when I bundled myself with him.
“You’ll come with me to the Emperor, then?”
“Of course.”
“Shall we prepare?”
His sudden shift in mood made me laugh. I almost imagined a tail wagging behind him.
I cupped his cheeks and looked into his golden eyes.
I nearly lost the chance to ever see this again.
That flicker of gold… so beautiful, it made my chest ache just remembering what I’d almost thrown away.
“Yes. Let’s do it together.”
This would be our Saint Portu to run.
I had to be part of it. My experience as vice-commander of the Holy Knights, scraps of the “original story” still in my head, and bits of knowledge I’d gathered—I’d use them all.
Saint Portu would be fine. I believed it.
I held Karl’s face even closer.
“You know, we’ll have a lot to discuss ourselves too.”
“That’s true.”
“If we become an independent principality, how will we run it? Without monster parts, what will fund us? Agriculture? Trade routes?”
“And there’s still our wedding to plan.”
Karl cut me off gently, reminding me of what I’d almost forgotten.
“Oh. Right.”
“Don’t think you can just make it simple, Elaine.”
“It doesn’t need to be extravagant—”
“I plan to boast about my bride everywhere.”
“And what does that do?”
“It lets everyone know exactly whose wife you are.”
“…You don’t need to flaunt that. I’m already yours, idiot.”
“I’ll still boast.”
He only smiled and pressed his forehead to mine.
It was ridiculous, but adorable. I was hopeless too.
“When we return, I’ll refurbish a hall just for the vows.”
“A hall? I thought it was supposed to be in the underground village.”
“That place will stay as a shelter. We’ll rent it cheap to the poor.”
“…That does make a ceremony there tricky.”
“Better than leaving it abandoned as some untouchable ‘sacred site.’”
Then he started listing plans.
A dressmaker from the capital, jewels imported from abroad, maybe hold the ceremony twice—once in the capital, once in Saint Portu.
“Of course, our families will sit in the front.”
“Mm.”
“And when I lift your veil—”
“Mmhm.”
I cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips. I had something else in mind.
“I get it. You’ve got the wedding all planned out.”
His brows rose slightly, questioning what the problem was.
I removed my hand, leaned in, and kissed him lightly.
“…”
The veins on his forearm bulged as he clenched the sheets.
I grinned at the sight.
“But you forgot something.”
“Forgot?”
“Mmhm.”
Before he could ask, I pushed his shoulder. He let me.
And just like that, I was straddling him.
“…Elaine.”
His voice dropped low.
Even his fists, clutching the blanket in restraint, looked cute.
“You forgot the most important thing—for both the duchy and us.”
“….”
“I think you know what it is.”
His throat bobbed hard.
“Elaine.”
“For reference, I’m perfectly fine now. Two weeks of rest and plenty of… self-testing.”
“…Don’t tell me you snuck out to train at dawn while I was watching—”
“Not that far.”
Honestly, how does he even imagine these things when he never takes his eyes off me?
Anyway.
This man had always stopped short, worried about me.
But—
“The dragon’s magic is gone. That means I won’t die because of you anymore.”
“….”
“So.”
This time, I’d help him cross the line.
I tugged at the ribbon of my nightgown, letting it fall open.
His mouth parted, his eyes burned, his hand clamped onto my thigh.
Back at the Gate, I regretted it…
But now, there was nothing to hold us back.
“We should think about heirs.”
His eyes went wide, blazing.
“I’d like a daughter first.”
“….”
“They say daughters take after their fathers. So I want one who looks like you—”
My words cut off.
And a few hours later…
I regretted it. Just a little.
